Manchester Me men rs, Vol. Iviii. {igi'^^). g 



it of the geological collection belonging to the Manchester 

 Geological Society. The geological specimens previously 

 in the Museum were amalgamated with the Geological 

 Society's collection, and the section constituted the best 

 geological museum in the provinces. There was from 

 time to time much friction between the Natural History 

 Society and the Geological Society as to the custody of, 

 and responsibility for, the united collection, and at one 

 meeting of the Council of the Natural History Society a 

 resolution was passed asking the Geological Society to 

 appoint another representative on the Joint Committee 

 because of the conduct of their representative. This was 

 E. VV. Binney, F.R.S., who, at the time of his death, was 

 President of the Literary and Philosophical Society. 

 Binney was a distinguished man, and really had at heart 

 the interests of the two societies, but an autocratic temper 

 and a great want of tact made him for several years a 

 storm centre in Manchester scientific circles. 



In 1854 Mr. H. E. B. Frere, afterwards well known as 

 Sir Bartle Frere, presented 98 birds from Scinde, and Sir 

 Edward Belcher, the explorer, presented some birds col- 

 lected in the Arctic regions. Important accessions either 

 by donation or purchase were afterwards few, though each 

 year the reports record some donations of single speci- 

 mens and small collections. 



When Dr. Alcock became curator popular lectures 

 were instituted in connection with the Museum, and were 

 illustrated with specimens from the Museum. About the 

 same time the Council had a pious resolution to devote 

 more attention to botany, a section which had hitherto been 

 neglected, excepting for the work in this direction of 

 Thomas Coward, one of the honorary curators. Never- 

 theless the botanical section was never good. 



No complete catalogue of the Museum was ever issued, 



